If you visited our site yesterday, you will have read Part I of our guide to getting a clean sparkly kitchen while avoiding buying more unnecessary nasty chemicals.
Today we’re posting the second half of that article, by starting off talking about scummy sinks and looking at how you can clean them really effectively with what’s already in your cupboard!
Scummy sinks
Sinks can also be a source of odors and the first thing is to make sure you aren’t allowing any food stuffs to go down into the u-bend of the plumbing – this will just rot away and the smell will come back into the kitchen. There are a number of really good plug hole covers that allow the fluids to go through, but stop solids – these can then be cleared out and put straight into the food recycling or the bin. Make a paste out of any washing powder you already have in and warm water, and use this to gently rub around the sink, paying attention to the joins of the plughole and around the base of the taps. This will act as a mild abrasive and remove marks and stains without scratching.
If your sink does get blocked, you can clean things through without using harsh chemicals. Mix three or four fizzy indigestion tablets with a cup of white vinegar and pour it down the sink. Leave for a few minutes and then use a good old-fashioned plunger to move the deposits around. Then, flush with as much hot water as you can, until it runs freely. To ensure there is no residual odour, put a capful of either vinegar or lemon juice down the plug hole and try to leave it for a couple of hours before running water again.
Dirty dishes
Casserole dishes, roasting tins and grill pans can become thick with burnt on grease. Fill the dishes, or the sink with boiling water and around 2 tablespoons of baking soda, leave it to soak for about half an hour and then wash as usual. Loosen thick grime on pans by soaking in cola for about an hour before washing – the results are astounding and when you see how clean your pan is, you’ll be wondering what cola does to your insides!
Cleaning your cooker (and your bath!)
Cleaning oven tops, hob fittings and the wire racks inside the cooker can be more difficult, not least because they invariably don’t fit into the kitchen sink. A way around this is to have a mass cleaning session and put around 3 inches of hot water into your bath, along with a good handful of soda crystals. Place a towel into the base of the bath to avoid scratches and then put the oven pieces into the bath. Soak for an hour or so, then rinse off. The greasy deposits should come off really easily. When you have finished simply drain the bath, make up a paste of washing powder and water, wipe the whole bath over then rinse off. This should leave your bath clean and your bathroom smelling fresh!
Your kitchen should now be sparkling fresh and smell clean without being overpowering with perfumed cleaning odors.
This article was written on behalf of The Splash, an online magazine that has a number of other green tips you might enjoy, including these eco cleaning articles. Carly Wood is from Leeds, UK. She loves blogging, the color pink and cupcakes. She also has a pet Schnauzer, which she adores!
Photo: cafemama
